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Dracaena umbraculifera

Dracaena umbraculifera
Photo: Dracaenaworldwide, CC BY-SA 4.0

Dracaena umbraculifera is a tree-like species in the Asparagus family, known from cultivated specimens in botanical gardens and once thought extinct in the wild. It is grown mainly as a specimen plant in warm climates and is kept indoors as a houseplant in cooler regions.

Family
Asparagaceae (Asparagus family)
Grows as
Tree
Light
Bright indirect
Water
Water when the top few centimetres of soil are dry, and let excess water drain away.
Soil
Well-draining potting mix with some added grit or perlite.
Temperature
18–30 °C; protect below 10 °C
How easy
Easy
Safety
Toxic: Sap and plant parts can irritate the mouth, stomach and skin if eaten or handled.. Toxic to cats and dogs (ASPCA).
Native range
NE. Madagascar
Climate
wet tropical

About

Dracaena umbraculifera is a species of flowering plant in the family Asparagaceae. It is a tree that was only known from botanical gardens since the end of the 18th century, the original sample was labelled as originating from the island nation of Mauritius. It was declared to be extinct by the IUCN in 1997. This was clearly incorrect, as there are living specimens in botanical gardens around the world. Searches on Mauritius failed to find any trees, however, so it was thought that the IUCN probably should have more correctly assessed the species as 'extinct in the wild'. As such a team of researchers at the Missouri Botanical Garden decided to 'reintroduce' the species back to Mauritius in 2011, clones were propagated by cuttings and planted out in Mauritius in 2012.

Only a year later, however, this also proved to be a mistake.

Other Dracaena plants

Dracaena aethiopica · Dracaena afromontana · Dracaena ajgal · Large-leaved dragon tree · Dracaena americana · Suji · Tree Dracaena · Lance Dracaena · Dracaena aubrytiana · Golden Dracaena · Dracaena bacularis · Dracaena ballyi

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Dracaena umbraculifera by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

Pet safety from the ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant lists.

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